Household electrical wiring systems often include one or more electrical wiring devices such as dimmer switches that control power to one or more loads. A dimmer switch has a main actuator coupled to a power switch to turn power ON/OFF to the load. An example of such an actuator includes a rectangular shaped paddle or push pad capable of being depressed within a rectangular shaped frame located on the front face of the dimmer. The dimmer switch also includes a dimmer actuator coupled to a dimmer circuit to control the amount of power to the load. In addition, agencies, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and Canadian Standards Association (CSA), require every dimmer switch to have an air-gap switch. An air-gap switch provides a mechanical means of disconnecting power to the dimmer. The air-gap switch should be accessible at the front face of the dimmer switch and be configured so as to be operable without any tools.
A typical dimmer switch has an air-gap switch disposed on the front face of the dimmer which is exposed and thus may detract from the appearance of the dimmer switch. In addition, it is not practical to use the main actuator as an air-gap switch because the spacing between the top and bottom portions of the main actuator and the frame may be relatively thin which limits the movement and prevents the rotation of the main actuator about the frame. Furthermore, conventional main actuators are relatively shallow which makes it difficult to grasp the actuator and pull it outward away from the frame. What is needed is a dimmer switch with a main actuator that can be lifted upward away from the frame to activate an air-gap switch and thereby disable the operation of the dimmer.